by Chris Stephenson When the image of a Viking comes to mind, some people visualize the comic strip character Hagar the Horrible wearing his horned helmut. However, an annual Nordic Yuletide celebration organized by a Salt Spring heathen society breaks the stereotype and brings the true culture of ancient northern Europeans into the spotlight.

"There has been a lot of misinformation that the tribes from the north were brutes until he Christians came along," said Dan Miller, founder of the Freehold Society. Instead, he said, the tribes of Northern Europe developed into a highly advanced civilization that excelled in many areas, including astronomy, navigation and wood working.He said the Nordic tribes also had a strong connection to nature, family and the community. "The purpose of folk-religion is not to spread some kind of ideology," said Miller, "but rather to aid the health and wholeness of families and local communities."